Illustrating the thirst for green knowledge, the Green Retailing session was so crowded that it was the only session at the Winter Institute from which people were turned away, according to the ABA's Len Vlahos. The message those who made it inside heard: more green upfront means more green down the line (and your customers will love you more!).
The panel was comprised of a lawmaker, Rep. Jay Inslee (D.-Wash.), author of Apollo's Fire (Island Press); Scott Sklar, president of the Stella Group and co-author of The Forbidden Fuel and The Consumers Guide to Solar Energy; and Sue Lynn, owner of Confluence Bookstore, Bistro and Business Center in Bellevue, Neb. (Lynn and Confluence were profiled here last fall when the store opened; Shelf Awareness, October 31, 2007.)
Rep. Inslee opened the discussion by asking booksellers to visualize solving the problem of global warming. "You are the most important people in America to help others see the solution," he said, echoing other speakers who extolled the bookseller as the center of change in the community. "This is where you come in." He also called global warming the single most unifying event in human history.
After saying he was the first member of congress to drive a fuel cell bus (President Bush visited the same facility but wasn't allowed to get behind the wheel), Inslee praised plug-in cars as well. "Nothing gets better over time except wine and plug-in cars," he said as he described the ever-improving technology.
Inslee asked booksellers, whom he called "geniuses in your community," to commit to three things to help fight global warming and to make their communities and businesses green: make a statement that your business is going green and tell everyone about it; engage the community and share ideas concerning what you are doing to make a difference; perform. In particular: change your light bulbs, wrap your hot-water heater, lower the heat and watch how you do your shipping. "It's achievable and, booksellers, I believe you can do it," he concluded.
Scott Sklar, who serves on the boards of directors of the Export Council for Energy Efficiency and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy and lives in a solar house in Arlington, Va., suggested that healthy stores can make for healthier customers. "Better lighting, better heating and air conditioning creates better retailing," he said. "People hang out longer and buy more stuff." Sklar recommended letting the community know what your store is doing to be green, adding, "Customers like green. People have an affinity to go places that do the right thing."
Sklar suggested replacing light bulbs with more energy efficient compact fluorescents, many of which can be found at betterbulb.com. He recommended putting all electronics that use remote controls on a power strip--turn it off when not in use so these "energy vampires" don't suck power that isn't doing anything anyway (think DVDs, video monitors, CD players, etc.). Sklar also suggested using "smart battery banks--you'll never need a surge protector for your computer again," and said realgoods.com offers many products using solar power that would help shops be greener.
Other practical advice included hosting talks and creating dialogues on sustainable living in your shop as well as creating displays and book sections on green living.
Sklar concluded his enthusiastic talk by saying the statement stores make by being green would be copied by others. "The service you bring to the community is different from other players in the field," he emphasized. "You are the conveyers of knowledge."
A self-described "eco-sensitive," Sue Lynn built her bookstore/business center/bistro Confluence from scratch, which enabled her to choose to have the building face north in order to minimize blasts of cold air every time the front door opened. She used wood from a dismantled barn for the floor, plank tables and furnishings. Besides being eco-friendly, Lynn said, the unusual wood is a great conversation starter.
Triple-paned windows, LED lights and low-energy nightlights help the store conserve energy. Recycling also plays a big part: Lynn returns wine bottle stoppers to the wineries, donates wine bottles to local artists (colored glass is not recycled in her town), uses sandwich holders made of cornstarch and encourages re-using bags. Lynn even brokered a deal with Dell Computers so that after five years, she'll return her PC and receive a discount on a new one.
Booksellers in the audience contributed ideas and references for green retailing, including ecolibris.net, which offers credits to readers and plants a tree for every book sold; purchasing green energy, such as wind, by creating a consortium in your business community (Shelf Awareness, September 21, 2007); and using green cleaning products in your store.--Susan L. Weis